When I decided to give Jack’s bedroom a little refresh (see it here: Jack’s Room: Before & After), it also dawned on me that his bathroom could use a fresh coat of paint.
There was nothing really WRONG with it, but the blue color on the walls was just kinda… too blue. I don’t know. I don’t know why, just one day I decided I hated it.
Also, for some reason the inside of the bathroom door was painted a cream color, rather than the bright white of every other door in the house. So it just kind of seemed dingy and dirty.
And I do realize, I am pretty much the only person who would ever notice, because I stare at it while hanging out in the bathroom talking to Jack through the shower curtain while he takes a shower (I don’t know, the kid is weird). Anyways, I decided to do a little paint switcheroo.
I wanted something a little calmer and more muted on the walls. So, I went with Glidden’s White Sage. It’s like a whisper of yellowish green. Not too lime, but a little dusty.
I did 2 coats of painting the edges by hand with a brush and 2 coats of walls with the roller. While waiting for the walls to dry, I did one coat of bright white glossy paint on the inside of the door. All in all, it was super quick and only took me maybe a half of a day with the prep, painting, drying and clean-up.
I LOVE the change though.
I didn’t change anything else in the bathroom – keeping the same shower curtain, shelf and pictures – but it gives it such a better feel. So, even though nobody else in my household really cares… I’m happy with it and that’s what matters!
Jack’s room has been updated many times over the past 10 years. First it was his nursery with a crib, then we changed to a toddler bed, then he went into a twin bed and finally we switched it out for a queen bed. The queen bed was pretty much unplanned. My parents had an extra bed they didn’t want, so we gave it a home since it’s only a matter of time before Jack grows into a giant like his dad.
However, I never actually painted his room. When we moved in, it was a blegh medium brown color. Two weeks later I went into early labor and Jack was in the NICU for a month. I didn’t want to paint the room and bring a brand new NICU baby home to lingering paint fumes. And then I guess I just got busy… for 10 years.
All this to say, it was overdue to finally spend a little time in Jack’s room!
There was wasted space next to Jack’s bed, because there was a heat vent on the floor that we didn’t want to block. There were a surprising amount of holes and dents in the walls from stuff that had been moved around over the years. Drywall anchors make quite a big hole when you yank them back out! Also, lots of just random marks from markers and pencils and whatever else happened in there when I wasn’t looking.
First step was to spackle all the holes. I like the kind that goes on pink and then fades to white once it’s completely dry. I let that dry overnight and then gave it a nice smooth sanding the following morning.
Then, comes the paint. I went with Behr Frittata which was a light cream with a hint of yellow. My goal was to make his room feel less like a cave and brighten it up a bit. It actually looks pretty similar to the original brownish color in these pictures, but in person it’s much more light and bright.
It took three coats of edging and 2 coats of rolling the walls to cover the old brown color. And WOW did it make a difference in making the room feel so much brighter and cleaner!
Before we get to the reveal, I also made a few little changes:
I rearranged the furniture to put Jack’s bed on the opposite wall.
I switched out the flimsy triangle block organizer with a more sturdy version that was inside Jack’s closet.
I’m thrilled with how Jack’s room turned out and he LOVES it too. I can’t get over how great the tie dye turned out and Jack loved it so much that he literally kissed it
The little yellow locker nightstand actually has a working lock, which was super thrilling for my treasure-hunter kiddo. The silly animals in glasses canvases were relocated to over the toy organizer. And the fluffy rug feels fantastic on your toes and brings in some more fun patterns!
And here’s a little “after” video:
The whole total of the change was about $300 between the paint, new rug and new nightstand. But Jack’s reaction to his new room was pretty much priceless!
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I used the Pax system and Komplement drawers from Ikea and spent a total of $575 + tax. {If you want the full breakdown with links, it’s in the full post linked above.}
Once I added my clothing to the new organizer, I realized I had two awkward spaces.
The area on the far left could totally fit one more mesh basket. And the plain front drawer area could fit one more drawer. Ikea also had the large shelf I needed back-ordered until November… so I figured when the shelf came back in stock I’d also order the other items.
It took much longer than expected. First, one item would be available for pick up… but then the shelf would be out of stock. Then, the next day the shelf would be in stock… but the mesh drawer would be out of stock. I left everything in my online Ikea cart and would click over daily until finally over Thanksgiving weekend EVERYTHING was in stock at once!
I arranged for a grab and go pickup for Sunday, drove out to Ikea and back and immediately grabbed my tools and got to work. Since I had already installed mesh drawers, shelves and plain front drawers, it was much easier than when I originally put everything together.
Just the addition of the three pieces (total additional cost $68) made a HUGE difference in everything looking much more *done* then before when I had the open spaces.
Here is the finished product:
I love that I gained two more drawers of space that would have otherwise been wasted. And that white drawer is HUGE too. Right now, it’s empty, but I think I’m going to use it to pack away my ‘in between weather skirts and dresses that I can’t wear with tights for the winter’ items.
This still isn’t the total FINISHED Walk-In Closet. So, there will still be more updates coming. It looks like we will be starting our bathroom project in the new year, so once we build in a bathroom and add another wall it will actually become a real walk-in closet.
Right now, I’m thinking once we have the new wall, I will either add a Pax box or two along with my existing shoe organizers. Or, I might just add a regular wire clothing rack for part of the area. Or both? Guess we’ll find out in 2022!
